It’s the ‘Happiest Season’ for lesbians into Kristen Stewart

We realize it’s only February, but suddenly we’re dreaming of a Christmas yet to come, one in which the comedy with the current working title Happiest Season will bring visions of sugarplummy Sapphic romance to multiplexes across this great lesbian-starved land. TriStar picked up the worldwide rights to the holiday-themed project from the writing team of Clea DuVall (who will also direct) and Mary Holland. Meanwhile Kristen Stewart has signed on to star and Mackenzie Davis (Tully) is in negotiations to co-star. The story involves a young woman planning to propose to her girlfriend at her family’s annual holiday party, only to discover that her partner has not yet come out to her conservative family. We detect a bit of Birdcage–ian farce in this premise, and we’re fine with that. One problem: now we’ve got Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of The Year” in our head. Probably for the rest of the week.

Sia’s making a movie called Music

This one will have you swinging from the chandelier: acclaimed recording artist Sia is going to take off her wig to direct a movie, currently titled Music. We admit it’s a somewhat generic sounding name for a film, but that’s where the basic stuff ends. Popular children’s book author Dallas Clayton (Lily the Unicorn) is writing the screenplay based on a story developed by Sia, and it centers on a sober drug dealer and their relationship with a younger sister who has autism. The cast, so far, includes Kate Hudson as the older sister, Hamilton star Leslie Odom, Jr., Tig Notaro, and veteran Sia video star Maddie Ziegler as Hudson’s young sibling. Sia is also working on music for Music – because it’s a musical, after all.

Warhol superstar Candy Darling returns to
life

She died of lymphoma at age 29, but Candy Darling packed a lot of living into those few decades. She was a transgender icon and muse to Andy Warhol, appearing in his films Flesh and Women in Revolt. She popped up in Klute with Jane Fonda, and in the legendarily odd queer indieSome of My Best Friends Are…. And if you’ve heard Lou Reed’s song “Take a Walk on The Wild Side,” an entire verse is about Candy’s sexual exploits. Now, 45 years later, she’ll be remembered in biopic form thanks to Transparent writer Stephanie Kornick and producer Zackary Drucker. The film, still in early days with no director or star attached, is primed for a talented young trans actress to show up and run with the material, much like what’s happening on FX with the groundbreaking series Pose. We can’t wait to see Candy walk on the wild side again.

The Halston documentary called Halston is finally here

When a person in history continues to fascinate the public years after that person’s death, it’s almost inevitable that various biopics will try to get up and running. And for legendary fashion designer Halston there’s already been one documentary and now a TV series in development. Stepping in to plant its own flag, though, is Halston, the latest doc from filmmaker Frederic Tcheng (Dior and I, Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel). Its somewhat unusual formal approach involves a scripted framework featuring fashion blogger-turned-actress Tavi Gevinson (Enough Said) and a tapestry of archival footage of iconic personalities in the designer’s orbit. That means people like Liza Minnelli, Marisa Berenson (Barry Lyndon), Joel Schumacher, model Pat Cleveland, and Elsa Peretti will be swirling about in scenes from Studio 54 and other only-in-the-1970s glamour enclaves. When it’s released later this spring, dress yourself up, spritz on some of that Z-14 cologne they still sell at the drugstore, and glide into the theater like you own the place.